accessary
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English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /əkˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/, /ækˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/
Audio (US): (file)
Etymology 1
From Middle English accessarie, axcessary, excercary, from Medieval Latin accessārius.[1][2]
Noun
accessary (plural accessaries)
- (law) Someone who accedes to some act, now especially a crime; one who contributes as an assistant or instigator to the commission of an offense.
Derived terms
- accessary after the fact (legal): one who, after an offense, assists or shelters the offender, not being present at the commission of the offense.
- accessary before the fact (legal): one who commands or counsels an offense, not being present at its commission.
- accessaryship
Translations
person
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Etymology 2
From Medieval Latin accessārius.
Adjective
accessary (comparative more accessary, superlative most accessary)
- (law) Accompanying as a subordinate; additional; accessory; especially, uniting in, or contributing to, a crime, but not as chief actor. See accessory.
- c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. (First Quarto), London: Valentine Sims for Andrew Wise, , published 1597, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], signature B2, verso:
- To both their deaths ſhalt thou be acceſſary.
Derived terms
Usage notes
- "This word, as used in law, is spelt accessory by Blackstone and many others; but in this sense is spelt accessary by Bouvier, Burrill, Burns, Whishaw, Dane, and the Penny Cyclopedia; while in other senses it is spelt accessory. In recent text-books on criminal law the distinction is not preserved, the spelling being either accessary or accessory." - Webster, 1913. Since that time this trend has accelerated.
References
- “accessary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- ^ “accessary, n. and adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
- ^ “accessō̆rie, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
